The National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday issued two urgent recommendations to reduce and reroute helicopter traffic around Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington after a midair crash of a passenger jet and an Army helicopter in January killed 67 people.

Jennifer Homendy, the investigative board’s chair, said that a review of air traffic at the airport from 2011 to 2024 found that an airplane alert was triggered at least once a month, instructing pilots to take emergency action to avoid hitting helicopters. Airline pilots are expected to follow the alerts, known as resolution advisories, over other commands, including air traffic control instructions.

In more than half those instances, which were documented in voluntary safety reports and Federal Aviation Administration data, the helicopter may have been flying above permitted altitudes for the route. Two out of three such collision threats took place at night.

Investigators have been trying to understand why an Army Black Hawk helicopter was flying above the maximum height for its route and how it ended up in the path of an American Airlines regional jet on the evening of Jan. 29.

In response to the data review and other findings, the safety board recommended that the FAA permanently ban helicopter traffic along a corridor known as Route 4 — which the Black Hawk was traveling on the night of the collision — when airport Runways 15 or 33 are in use. The corridor runs between Hains Point of East Potomac Park and the Wilson Bridge near National Airport. Airplane traffic on those runways accounts for less than 10% of departures and arrivals, so the helicopter closures would be limited, the agency said.

It also recommended that the FAA designate an alternative helicopter route when that segment is closed to helicopter traffic.

4 staffers charged in oxygen chamber death

The owner and three employees of a Michigan medical center have been charged in the death of a 5-year-old boy who was killed earlier this year inside an oxygen-rich hyperbaric chamber that exploded while he was receiving medical treatment, authorities said Tuesday.

The boy, Thomas Cooper, of Royal Oak, Mich., was receiving treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and sleep apnea on the morning of Jan. 31 at the Oxford Center in Troy, Mich., when a fire started inside the chamber, causing it to explode. The boy was found dead afterward, and his mother, who was standing near the chamber, was injured.

Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Tuesday that three people had been charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death: the Oxford Center’s owner, Tamela Peterson, 58; the safety manager at the facility, Jeffrey Mosteller, 64; and the primary management assistant, Gary Marken, 65.

The hyperbaric chamber’s operator, Aleta Moffitt, 60, was charged with involuntary manslaughter and placing false information into medical records.

Medical helicopter crash kills 3 in Miss.

All three people aboard a medical helicopter were killed when it crashed into a densely wooded area outside Jackson, Mississippis, on Monday while returning from transporting a patient, hospital officials said.

Two of the people were crew members who worked for the University of Mississippi Medical Center and the other was a pilot, Dr. LouAnn Woodward, the center’s top administrator, said during a news conference. The helicopter was not carrying any patients at the time of the accident, she added.

It was not clear what caused the aircraft, which the Federal Aviation Administration identified as a Eurocopter EC-135, to lose control. The FAA said that it and the National Transportation Safety Board would investigate the crash, which occurred around 1:15 p.m.

Officials identified the three people who died as Cal Wesolowski, 62, a pilot from Starkville, Miss.; Dustin Pope, 35, a base supervisor for AirCare from Philadelphia, Miss.; and Jakob Kindt, 37, a critical care paramedic for AirCare from Tupelo, Miss. They were based out of Columbus, Miss., and were part of AirCare 3, one of four medical helicopter units operated by the medical center.

GOP lawmaker slights transgender colleague

A Republican lawmaker abruptly adjourned a congressional hearing Tuesday after being challenged for referring to Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., the first openly transgender lawmaker in Congress, as a man.

The Europe Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs panel was in the middle of a hearing on arms control and U.S. assistance to Europe when its chair, Rep. Keith Self of Texas, introduced his colleague by calling her “Mr. McBride.”

McBride, who entered Congress knowing she would present a unique target for Republicans who have politicized and attacked transgender people, has generally chosen to let such moments slide. On Tuesday, she briefly registered her displeasure by returning Self’s slight, responding, “Thank you, Madam Chair,” before proceeding with her remarks.

But Rep. William Keating of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the subcommittee, was not willing to move on. He interrupted to request that Self repeat his introduction, which he did, again referring to the Delaware Democrat as “Mr. McBride.”

“Mr. Chairman, you are out of order,” Keating fired back. “Mr. Chairman, have you no decency? I mean, I’ve come to know you a little bit. But this is not decent.”

Self said it was time to continue the hearing. But Keating refused to let go.

“You will not continue it with me unless you introduce a duly elected representative the right way,” he said.

With that, Self then adjourned the session.

Houthis threaten Israeli ships in Mideast waters

Yemen’s Houthi rebels warned shippers early Wednesday that “any Israeli vessel” traveling through nearby Mideast waters is now a target as Israel continues to block aid to the Gaza Strip.

The warning from the Houthis again throws into chaos a crucial maritime waterway between Asia and Europe, threatens revenue from Egypt’s Suez Canal and possibly will halt aid shipments to war zones. The rebels in the past have also had a loose definition of what constitutes an Israeli ship, meaning other vessels could be targeted as well.

The statement from the Houthis’ Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center follows a four-day deadline set by the rebels for Israel to resume aid shipments.

“We hope it is understood that the actions taken by the (Houthi military) ... stem from a deep sense of religious, humanitarian and moral responsibility toward the oppressed Palestinian people and aim to pressure

the Israeli usurper entity to reopen the crossings to the Gaza Strip and allow the entry of aid, including food and medical supplies,” the statement said.

8 Palestinians reported killed in Gaza Strip

Israeli fire has killed eight Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and three more in the occupied West Bank over the past 24 hours, Palestinian officials said Tuesday, even as a fragile ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza has largely held since late January. Israeli forces have killed dozens of Palestinians in Gaza during the ceasefire who the military says had approached its troops or entered unauthorized areas.

Hamas says a new round of ceasefire talks have started Tuesday. Israel wants Hamas to release half of the remaining hostages in return for a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. Hamas instead wants to start negotiations on the ceasefire’s more difficult second phase, in which the remaining hostages would be released and Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza. Hamas is believed to have 24 living hostages and the bodies of 35 others.

Katie Porter enters Calif. governor race

Former Democratic U.S. House member Katie Porter announced Tuesday that she is entering the 2026 contest for California governor, joining a crowded field of candidates that could be upended if former Vice President Kamala Harris joins the race.

Porter, who became a social media celebrity by brandishing a white board at congressional hearings while grilling CEOs, promised in a campaign launch video to be an aggressive counterweight to President Donald Trump’s administration at a time when the heavily Democratic state has clashed with the White House over issues from water management to immigrant rights.

“In Congress, I held the Trump administration’s feet to the fire when they hurt Americans. As governor, I won’t ever back down when Trump hurts Californians — whether he’s holding up disaster relief, attacking our rights or our communities, or screwing over working families to benefit himself and his cronies,” Porter said.

Portugal’s government loses confidence vote

Portugal’s minority government lost a confidence vote in parliament Tuesday, forcing its resignation and bringing the European Union country’s third general election in three years.

The government’s fall marks the worst spell of political instability since Portugal adopted a democratic system more than 50 years ago in the wake of the 1974 Carnation Revolution, which ended a four-decade dictatorship.

A string of minority governments has been unable to forge alliances that might ensure the administration completes its constitutional four-year term without opposition parties teaming up to bring it down.

A new election, likely in May, pitches the country of 10.6 million people into months of political uncertainty just as it is in the process of investing more than 22 billion euros ($24 billion) in EU development funds.

2 more arrested in Louisiana hazing death

Two more arrests have been made in connection with the death of a 20-year-old Southern University student who was repeatedly punched during an off-campus fraternity hazing ritual in Louisiana, Baton Rouge police announced Tuesday.

Kyle Thurman, 25, and Isaiah Smith, 28, have been arrested and face charges of felony criminal hazing for their role in the death of Caleb Wilson, a mechanical engineering junior at the school who died in late February.

Last week, police arrested Caleb McCray, 23, who faces charges of criminal hazing and manslaughter. He allegedly punched Wilson four times before the pledge collapsed unresponsive and appeared to suffer a seizure.

TSA turns up a turtle in traveler’s trousers

A Pennsylvania man who was going through security at a New Jersey airport was found to have a live turtle concealed in his pants, according to the federal Transportation Security Administration.

The turtle was detected Friday after a body scanner alarm went off at Newark Liberty International Airport. A TSA officer then conducted a pat-down on the East Stroudsburg man and determined there was something concealed in the groin area of his pants.

When questioned further, the man reached into his pants and pulled out the turtle, which was about 5 inches long and wrapped in a small towel. He said it was a red-ear slider turtle, a species that is popular as a pet.

The man — whose name was not released — was escorted from the checkpoint area by Port Authority police and ended up missing his flight. The turtle was confiscated, and it’s not clear if the turtle was the man’s pet or why he had it in his pants.

— News service reports